Exercise: Getting Technical
• Of the resources immediately available to you
now, which can you use to make music from?
• Try not to focus to rhythmic/percussive
instruments
• 1 minute!
• Can you find anything that is pitched?

• Music technology is about “organizing sound”
from the resources available to you
• Doesn’t have to be electronic, or even a
‘official’ musical instrument
• New instruments are invented every other
day.
• So be resourceful!

Advanced Music Technology
• The field of Music Technology is usually
associated with more advanced technology.
• We study how to manipulate software and
hardware
• We use it in the studio
• We use it live recording
• Multimedia Entertainment depends on our
understanding (music, film, television,
computer games, theatre, art installations,
etc..)
Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com twitter.com/xij

• Reaper is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
• This is the kind of software used in the
industry to create and produce music.
• Though simpler than many other industry
standard DAWS, Reaper is actively used by
thousands of recording studios and music
professionals for its simplicity and open
format.
Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com twitter.com/xij

Demo
:
Reaper
Some things we can do with Reaper
• Example: Synthesis vs. Recording: We can either
generate new sound or rearrange existing sounds
to create music.
• Hardware vs. Software: How much studio
equipment do we actually need for the purpose
at hand?
• Applying Effects: How we can make a preexisting sound more interesting.
• Applying Presets: How we can use the expertise
of others to improve and program our sounds.
Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com twitter.com/xij

Music Tech: Musician Empowerment
• Music technology is more powerful and more cost
effective than ever.
• This is thanks to the falling prices and increasing
capabilities of the personal computer and digital
hardware.
• Thanks to the internet, learning how to use these
tools is as simple as searching for Youtube tutorials.
• So, the boundaries to making and recording music
are lower than they have ever been!
• If you have ever wanted to explore music making
with minimal cost outlay, now is your time.
• www.reaper.fm/download.php - start here and try
Reaper for free. Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com twitter.com/xij

About Jack
• Jack is a musician and composer from the UK.
• He got started properly recording music when
a friend showed him to use Reaper.
• He makes music under many musical aliases.
• At the moment he writes as Xij, composing
electronic and orchestral music:
www.music.xijindustries.com - or Google “xij
music”
• Send him your tracks. He wants to hear them!
Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com twitter.com/xij

Jack Oughton - Music Tech 101

This is the latest revision of a presentation I give on 'introducing music technology' to people who are new to the subject. It explores what music tech is, what it is used for, how to use it, and a very simple way to get started in producing music for free at home.